The Journey
by kidfromsix
Summary: The story takes place roughly a year after "The Kids are All right." Katniss and her daughter Anna are visiting Annie in District 4. Johanna and her daughter accompanied by Travis and Posy are also along. Daniel and Anna further their relationship. Fluff...No doubt, Rated M for language and sexual situations
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One The Journey**

I woke to the warm smell of coffee perking in the kitchen, yawning then sitting up, I pulled on my shorts and stumbled out of my room.

Mom was sitting at the table sipping on her coffee.

"Morning mom," I asked, "How did you sleep?"

"Good morning Daniel," she replied, "Not very well, but it wasn't because of any bad dreams, thank God I haven't been suffering from many of those lately, No I just lay awake thinking of all the things I have yet to do before everybody arrives."

I smiled and took a sip of coffee, "Just relax mom," I replied,

"Everything will be fine, Anna will be right there to help you, so will Mrs. Mellark.

My mom expressed one of her half-smiles, "Oh I know all that Jo and Stormy will be here a little later, it's just that I can't remember having this many people here at the house all at one time before, I'm rather nervous about it."

This was to be a very special week, not only was mom's closest friend Johanna Hawthorne and her daughter Stormy along with Posy, "Uncle" Gale's younger sister. Katniss Mellark and her daughter Anna were coming from district 12, bringing Stormy's boyfriend Travis de Luna. It took a lot of coordination on everyone's part, but three former victors of the old Hunger Games along with their children would be spending a week of relaxing on the beach.

"Mom, gotta question?"

"Yes Daniel what is it?"

Well, when all you ladies get down on that beach, does this mean Travis and I will have to get "lost?"

Giving me a strange look, mom asked, "Why would that be?"

Approaching a subject that had to be phrased just right and with no misunderstandings, I continued.

"Well you know how things will get," I explained.

"Like that one time, all you women will start running around on the beach with no clothes on.

My mother thought about it for a minute then started laughing, a reaction she had only recently started to exhibit.

"Then I guess you'll just have to go off with Anna and Stormy somewhere else, you know someplace like Albertson's cove."

"How did she know about that that place?" I thought to myself. "Oh yeah, silly me, I remember her telling me that she and dad went there a couple of times just before he married her." I briefly entertained the thought that that's where I was conceived.

Quickly returning to the present, I said,

"Whatever mom, I'm just glad you guys are getting together, this will be Mrs. Mellark's first time here."

"oh she was here in district 4 a long time ago, but gratefully, this will be strictly an opportunity to talk and relax on the beach."

Before long Emily and her daughter Ashly came over,

"Where's Gage?" I asked.

"Oh he went with his father to see about buying some new canvas for the boat, he should be around later," said Emily.

Ashly and Gage were Emily's children, Ashly was 12 and Gage was a year older. Gage and I got along all right, he sort of looked up to me as a "big brother," his dad was teaching him everything about boats, normally I'd be with them today as well, but I begged off considering the fact that Anna was arriving today. Ashly was going to be as attractive as her mother, she and Stormy were best friends, and if I wasn't careful, the two of them liked to gang up on me in a friendly sort of way. It looked like she was going to stick around and help my mom and her Aunt bake some seaweed biscuits, I drifted outside and started getting the tent Travis and I would be sleeping in for the next week..

Since that fateful trip to district 12 Stormy and I made last year, looking for answers mom's whole attitude and behavior was changing. Not long after we returned, she sat me down and had a very personal chat, she cried, she laughed, she admitted things to me I had never known, but most of all she apologized to me for her previous behavior, something I told her she didn't need to do.

"Daniel, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, talking to Johanna and especially Katniss. I've finally started to realize I've been wallowing in grief far too long. Recently I've started to examining my life, and I'm not happy with what I've discovered. Oh I'm not talking about grieving for your father, there will always be a special place in my heart for him, and it's because of him I plan never to marry again, however I can't let grief dictate my life, Katniss warned me about this, it's something we both share."

I wasn't sure where she was angling at, but I'd never heard this sort of talk from her before, obviously something new was taking place.

"Life is passing me by Daniel, Johanna keeps harping on that fact, but I see now that she's right. Something about physically getting on that train, and actually traveling to district 12 did something to me, and for that I can never thank your and Stormy enough.

She then got very quiet, and just sat there and looked at me a moment.

"Daniel, I think it's time I told you something, something I hope you don't just simply dismiss, because it's true."

"Oh boy," I thought I thought I knew my mother, but now she was going to reveal something to me out of her past, what could this be?"

"He hasn't appeared in my dreams for almost a year now, but your father used to come to me and warn me of things, or comfort me, Johanna told me he came to her as well, though not in a long time now. I used to see your father standing at the foot of my bed, smiling, the same smile you have. Don't think me crazy, it's true, but because he comes less and less anymore makes me think he realizes it's time I step out on my own. I think he's saying "goodbye," and the last dream I had I dreamed that he and I were just standing together on a beautiful beach, with not a care in the world. I think it was a "sign."

I looked at my mom, slowly got up and hugged her.

"Mom, it's all right, he spoke to me as well, though not in a very long time. The last time I remember as his image slowly faded, I felt this incredible sense of happiness and well-being. Mom. I think dad realizes we can do it on our own now. I think he knows we will always hold him dear in our hearts, but that our lives are moving forward."

She continued to have bad dreams, although not as frequent, she also began to go into town more often, not only with Emily, but by herself as well.

Mom also started to exercise more as well, running on the beach, and swimming, were her main activities, many times we'd swim or run together, I would always be there to encourage her, reassuring her. She was also becoming more comfortable being alone when I was off on a fishing boat.

Finally we all strolled into town and the train station, another good sign was that people on the street would greet us, and mom would smile and return the greeting.

While we waited for the train to pull in, people would come up to my mom and chat or greet her, I watched her response to these encounters, and while she always remained reserved, she would smile and not draw inside of herself.

Anna was the first off rushing into my arms planting a big kiss on my face, to the delight of everyone. Mrs. Mellark was next, embracing my mom. Both greeted each other warmly, as my "Aunt" Johanna, Stormy, Posy and Travis came down the steps. Stormy's mom rush over and hugged my mom.

"We're creating a scene," announced Emily, "Let's go home."

So with us kids carrying all the luggage, we followed a bunch of yakking women. Of course, we didn't really mind, Anna and I kept grinning at each other, Stormy and Travis were doing the same.

"How's things Travis?" I asked.

"We're busy as hell, working my ass off, but there could be worse things, hey, I topped out my first tree a couple weeks ago, dad wouldn't let me go up until he was sure I was ready."

"Topping a tree, what do you mean?" I asked. He chuckled.

"Picture yourself up around sixty or seventy feet off the ground, the only thing keeping you from falling is a safety strap and the cleats on your boots. You lean back and just start sawing the tree, making damn sure when it starts to fall, you're out of the way, sometimes they tend to pitch back in your face. How's that for excitement?"

I described to him the experience of being tossed around in a fishing boat on a storm tossed sea, trying to reel out net, or bring it in. It was about that time we realized we were making our girlfriends nervous, so we changed the subject.

Stormy introduced me to Posy, who told me she was sixteen and planning on being a doctor. Posy was very cute, but wore a serious look, like she was trying to think of something, but couldn't remember what it was. Later, Stormy told me in private,

"Don't piss her off Daniel, she's been taking knife lessons from mom, sometimes they get out there and go at each other with wooden knives."

Once we got to the house I pointed out the tent to Travis, "Throw your stuff in the tent, that's where you and I are sleeping for the coming week." I then went up to Anna's mother and said, "Mrs. Mellark, got something I learned to make I'm hoping for your verdict on. Mr. Mellark taught me how to make a really great pie crust, I took that skill and used it to create a tuna pie, chopped up pieces of tuna, carrots peas, onions, Mom and I love them."

"Well I'd be glad to try one , oh by the way Peeta sent along some of those cheese buns you liked, that is my daughter hasn't eaten them already."

I then asked Stormy's mom how Mr. Hawthorne was.

"Busy as ever, the district is finally starting to grow, I'm even thinking of taking a part time job." Upon hearing this my mom turned and asked.

"what's this about taking a job Jo?"

"Yeah," she replied. "Gale has a friend over in purchasing, they need someone to do some part-time stuff, maybe a day or two a week, it's work that needs doing, but they can't justify hiring somebody full time to do it, it's mainly contacting district managers on the phone and verifying the purchase requests and correcting any errors. Gale asked me if I was interested, I thought about it and said "why not." It will work out great, as it will give us a chance to have lunch together a couple days a week, Stormy doesn't get out of school until later so it all kind of works out. Mrs. Hawthorne then sighed, "What I really think is going on is that Gale wants me to take a job involving traveling back and forth to district seven, meeting with various groups and business people. He thinks that as a former victor from seven I'd have an edge, and please pardon the pun, on dealing with people from my old district. And this part time job is a way to get my feet "wet."

"And you don't want to do it?" added Mrs. Mellark. Johanna grimaced, I really can't make up my mind, Gale is letting me decide, he just answers my questions he won't say one way or the other what he thinks, it's simply, " Your choice Jo, I'm simply making the offer."

"Sounds like a lot of travel's involved," commented my mom.

"It is, but the thing is It's just been so many years now, I haven't lived in district seven for literally years now, Gale and I went back there when Stormy was ten, I pretty much made peace with myself, as well as my feelings toward the district, but I don't know if it's true in your cases, but nobody remembers me there anymore, the games were a long time ago, the people who cared anything about them are long since dead. People just want to move ahead with their lives, the games represent memories most folks just want to put behind them."

"That's pretty much the case in 12," replied Mrs. Mellark. "Everybody knows who Peeta and I are, they all greet us, like family but that's as far as it goes. It's no secret about all the problems I had coming home after the rebellion. There are some who blame me for the destruction of the district, but they never say anything, Like seven, everybody just wants to move forward." Chuckling, she added, "This was the first year I spoke at remembrance day, that's generally the only time anybody talks about the old days anymore, and perhaps that's the way it should be, honestly all that really matters is that our children as well as all the others don't have to worry about being reaped."

"I think that sums it up pretty well for district four," replied my mom. "They asked me to say a few words at Daniel's school about what remembrance day is all about, I declined, but perhaps next year, I'll have to give it some thought."

"Let's face it," remarked "Aunt" Johanna, "We're just a bad reminder of the past people would just as soon forget. And yes, it does tend to bother me a bit, all of us lost family and underwent horrendous treatment so that people's kids wouldn't have to go to the slaughter like cattle, if only for that I'd like people to remember us." All were in agreement with that. Mrs. Mellark then asked,

"So what do you have on tap for us Annie?"

"I hope you brought your bow like I asked you, if you didn't we're going to starve, I've gotten pretty rusty with my trident, Daniel and I know some places where you can literally shoot fish in a barrel."

"I brought it, and Anna brought hers as well."

"Good," replied mom, "I think you'll find it quite challenging."

Mom, Katniss, Johanna and Emily retired to the living room with a glass of wine for some serious "Cackling" which was the perfect opportunity for us kids to take our leave, and head down to the beach. Ashly followed us until we found a place to sit, she then moved farther down the beach standing in the surf, looking out to sea. I started to concern myself with Anna, when she looked past me towards Ashly. Her eyes suddenly got big as saucers, pointing towards Ashly, she gasped,

What is she doing?" I had a pretty good idea, but looked anyway. Stripping off her shorts and tee-shirt I watched as Ashly proceeded to dive into the surf for a swim.

"Ashly's just going swimming," I replied, "No big deal." Anna , as well as Posy continued to stare which also drew Travis's attention.

"That looks like fun," remarked Posy, "Seeing as how I'm the odd one out here, I think I'll go join Ashly, that looks like fun." She then gave us a wink, and sauntered up the beach to where Ashly was splashing around pulling off her top as she went.

"She takes after mom," observed Stormy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two Boys and Girls Together**

Both Travis and Anna admitted they couldn't swim, although Anna said her mother taught her the basics so she wouldn't drown should she fall in a nearby pond.

"If you like, I'll ask mom to teach you learning a little bit everyday you'd know how by the time you have to go back home."

"I'd like that," she replied, "I really like your mom, after that talk we had when you and Stormy came to district 12 and we got our folks back together again."

"Has your mom told you anymore about her past," I asked.

Shaking her head, Anna replied, "No, not really, and quite frankly after what she and your folks told us I don't really want to know anymore, I'm fine with things."

By now Travis and Stormy had disappeared behind us, no doubt to an intimate little spot in one of the capes. Ashly and Posy were still frolicking in the surf as Anna asked,

"Do you ever go swimming naked?"

I grinned, interested in where Anna was planning on taking this.

"Depends really, If I happen to spot some nice looking clams, or just something in the water, I'll go in naked, mainly 'cuz I don't want my shorts or whatever caking up with the salt. I'm all the time getting little scratches on me, when you work on a fishing boat like I do it just goes with the territory, but when your clothes have salt in them it can really hurt."

None of us said anything for a moment continuing to stare out at the gulf, until Anna quietly asked,

"Is there anyplace around here we could swim naked together?"

Anna wore an innocent expression on her face as she asked the question.

"Ummm…Maybe, but if you can't swim what would be the point? I know of a place that forms a small pool when the tides out, 'course Stormy knows of it as well, so if you like it private I'll have to check with her. Mom's got a friend lives up the beach that way, names Kiria, mom sometimes stays overnight with her if she doesn't feel like walking back right away. Her daughter Bella told me once when the two of them get together they like to run around with nothing on, I'm sure that while you guys are here there will be a trip up there."

"Would you be coming too?" Asked Anna very coyly.

"Me? Oh no, sorry Anna Travis and I will find something to do while you women enjoy yourselves up at Kiria's." Anna started to look a little disappointed at the prospect o not swimming together when I added.

"Ever gone "skinny dipping?"

"No, what's that?"

Shaking my head, I replied,

"I can't really believe you don't know what "skinny dipping" is."

Looking at me with her wide eyed innocence Anna replied,

"No I really don't, what is it?"

"When it get's dark out we head out to the surf, get naked, and go in the water, that's pretty much it, but it can be dangerous."

"Why's that?"

"Well for one, the tides and undercurrents change especially if the moon is out, if you don't know what you're doing, it's real easy to drown. Secondly, I'm pretty sure my mom and "Aunt" Johanna will be on the "alert" for any attempts at it, man, I'd sure hate to be out there you in my arms and we hear, "Who's that out there? You two what are you doing out there, are you two naked?" Mom might not say anything, but my "Aunt" sure would, don't know about your mom though."

"Hard to say until she catches me," muttered Anna.

Without realizing it our faces grew closer as we were talking, it was only natural that we finish the "job" as our lips met and our tongues began to explore each other's mouths.

Time just seemed to slip by as we enjoyed each other's love. Finally, both of us realized it was getting late so we reluctantly headed back to the house.

Meal preparation was in full swing, both of us got dirty looks from everyone mom thrust a couple knives into my hand,

"There's a bucket of shrimp and shell fish that need cleaning, better get to it." I corralled Travis and said,

"C'mon, I'll teach you a skill." We set up a place to work, two chairs a couple buckets and salt water, then went to work. I showed Travis how to pop the shells open trim the shrimp, throw it in the bucket of salt water then move on to the next one. We were being watched and "encouraged" to work faster, so Travis and I stayed right at it. Being used to knives and such he picked things up quickly, so pretty soon we were rolling right along.

At one point "Aunt" Johanna stood there and watched us,

""Aunt" Johanna, how's things going?" (no answer) "How's "Uncle" Gale? (no answer) "Nice day isn't it?" (no answer) "Aw c'mon "Aunt" Johanna, give a guy a break." (still no answer, just a cruel smile as she walks away) Shortly afterwards I heard mom and Johanna chuckling, I figured it was at my expense, but just to hear mom laugh made it all worth while. The cookout was great, we sat on the deck watching the sun go down, and the sea birds flying. Anna and I were sitting next to each other, arms around each other's waists, as were Stormy and Travis. Our mother's were sitting just down from us chattering away as usual, I kept an ear cocked for any loose tidbits of information concerning any mention of the Hunger Games, and their time in it, but it was all either district politics, who died, who was getting married or who somebody hadn't seen in awhile. However, two names kept popping up, and that was Mrs. Mellark's old mentor Haymitch Abernathy , who I had met when Stormy and I made that fateful trip to district 12. The other name was Effie Trinket.

When Mrs. Mellark brought her name up "Aunt "Johanna made a couple derogatory comments, but before I could catch anymore, Anna directed my attention away from that conversation, and to her lips which were now pressing down on mine.

Long after our mothers went inside we four kids sat on the deck listening to the sounds of the surf, enjoying each other's company, gentle kisses and hugs, "things" whispered into ears, giggles, and nibbling on ears, or nips on offered necks. Travis and I finally said goodnight to our lovers, and retired to our tent. We didn't say much to each other, still lost in our private thoughts, laying in our sleeping bags wishing our ladies were next to us.

The next morning after breakfast mom gently hinted that "Perhaps you could take Travis over to watch the boats, show him the one you work on, oh and don't forget Gage, and if by chance we're not back by this evening, we'll be staying at Kiria's."But What she was really telling me was,

"Johanna, Katniss, Emily and I, along with Ashly, Anna and Stormy, and Posy are going up to Kiria's place where we'll run around naked, tell dirty jokes, and talk about men. We'll tell each other our deepest secrets, lie naked on the beach and be ourselves, sorry you and Travis can't come, but that's the way it is." Grabbing Travis, I stopped by Aunt Emily's place to pick up Gage.

My Aunt was packing up some things to take while telling Gage that there were things in the refrigerator he could eat for supper. Ashly smirked at us and in a superior sounding voice said,

"We're going to have a lot of fun up at Kiria's, but you can't go, naa yaa!"

That's OK," I replied, "don't burn your "boobs."

Acting like I just caught her with her hand in the cookie jar, she snarled,

"What's that supposed to mean?"

With a smile on my face I replied, "You know what I mean, have a good time."

Although Gage was younger that Travis and I, I treated him like a brother, which in a way he was. His dad was still three days out on a shrimp boat, which in another few days so would I.

"So what's the plan?" asked Travis.

"There is no plan," I replied, "We've got until tomorrow afternoon to do whatever we want, but I'm afraid my days as a beach bum are numbered. Gage here has got a few years yet, but I've got responsibilities now, as well as trying to figure out what I'm going to do with my life. How about you Travis, what have you got to look forward to?"

Shrugging, he replied, "Dad's grooming me to take over the business, which all things considered won't really be too bad, we've got lot's of work, it's hard, but we're finally getting a couple of those new chain saws as well as some upgrades to the mill, so I'm doing all right I guess."

"Right now I'm taking you over to look at the fishing boat I work on, it's a living, but mom's been pushing me to go back to school in the capitol, "Uncle" Gale has offered me a position over in district 2 but I'm not really sure about that, I like living here in four, I've grown up here it's my home, fishing is all I know. However one job I have been considering is that of a fisheries inspector. Captain Emmis the guy I work for pushed me to take the test, which I passed with flying colors, but I've got a little time yet to decide."

"What would that involve?" asked Travis.

"Basically inspecting catches, making sure there weren't a lot of dead fish, or too many. Here in four, we take pride in the seafood we ship out of here, it's what we know it's all we do so we make damn sure we ship quality, heh, listen to me, I sound like a bureaucrat all ready."

We walked over to the marina where the "Sea Queen" was docked. Nobody was around, so we went on board, Gage knew his way around fishing boats already so there wasn't much to impress him. Travis remarked about the close quarters and the limited working area.

"Try to imagine being onboard in a rolling sea, a storm is bearing down on you, your being drenched with sea spray and trying to reel in your nets," I said. Travis shuddered at that thought. Not being able to swim he only thought of falling overboard, and expressed his fears of it.

"Mom worries all the time about it as well," I replied. "That's why she wants me to go back to school, although that inspection job intrests her as well."

We spent the rest of the morning wandering around the harbor, I introduced Travis to several of my friends, so we'd sit around and bullshit with them awhile talking boats and fishing. Finally boring of that, we hit a street vendor selling crab cakes.

""If you've never had crab cakes, this is the guy to get them from," I remarked. We each bought two, and a bottle of beer, since Gage wasn't old enough for the beer I offered to split mine with him. We found a nice shady spot under a palm tree, ate our lunch and watched the world go by. On a couple of occasions we were approached by a couple of girls I knew. Since Travis and I were already "spoken for," we had to be on our best behavior . However they were fun to talk to, they all knew my mom or my Aunt Emily so we kept things pretty light.

We gradually worked our way back to the house where Travis showed Gage and I how to throw an axe as well as a few tricks with a knife. Both of us missed our girlfriends, and as a result pretty much just moped around. Sitting on the deck Travis asked me,

"You ever learn anymore about what your mom did in those Hunger Games?" "No, not really, I figured that when Stormy and I went to see the Mellark's they told us all they were going to say, both Stormy and I agreed we got more than we'd planned, besides, I heard enough to answer all my questions, why, you hear something?"

Travis nodded, "Last year I went with Mr. and Mrs. Mellark and Anna to visit Stormy's folks. One evening Stormy, Anna and I were sitting together on the porch swing just hanging out, when Stormy's ears perked up."

"About what?" I asked.

"The adults inside were talking mostly politics, and about stuff going on in the districts, but somehow they started talking about the games, Stormy's mom said something to Anna's mom about being lucky she never had to do the things she and Finnick had to."

"I wonder what she meant by that?" I replied.

Travis looked grim,

"Apparently she had to make herself available to men in the capitol for sex, then Anna's dad said something like, "Snow was prepared to farm both of us out or have us perform for sick-o's." Then we heard Stormy's dad say "After you and Katniss returned to the seam we made sure all those people were taken care of, our people found a ton of tapes which we made sure got burned." They must have realized they were talking too loudly because after that, all we could hear was mumbling."

"That sounds horrible," I replied, but my thoughts immediately going to mom wondering if she had to do that sort of thing. I now realized what Anna's dad meant about never telling us certain things, God! Being forced to whore yourself out like that.

Travis went on to say,

"I didn't notice it at first, but I caught Stormy crying, Anna was trying to comfort her, drying her eyes., we didn't want her parents seeing her like that they might have realized that we had been listening in."

"Well," I sighed, "That adds another piece to the puzzle, although it's one I could have done without." Trying to think of something to say I asked Travis,

"Stormy tells me Posy is pretty handy with a knife." Travis guffawed, and let out with a low whistle, "Man is she ever, Stormy's mom has been training her, she showed me a few things as well, although the axe is my weapon of choice. She's always telling Stormy "A girl has to know how to defend herself. I went with the Mellark's a while back up to two, Posy and her mom were there as well. Stormy's mom and Posy put on a little demonstration for us. I'm telling ya Daniel, they went after each other like a couple wildcats. Mrs. Hawthorne won…But just barely, man, that was sure something to see."

"So how are you and Stormy's mom getting along," I casually asked. Travis started laughing, "Well ever since we had our little "chat," just great, she a pretty cool lady."

"Umm what chat was that?"

Travis shrugged,

"Basically, "I really like you Travis, but I have plans for my daughter, DON'T get her pregnant if you know what's good for you." I laughed as well, telling Travis how she came down on me over the train ride Stormy and I took to twelve, and the fact that we slept in the same bed.

"Yeah," chuckled Travis, "She told me that one as well."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three Bad Girls**

I wasn't sure what to expect on this "girls only" outing up to this woman's house Daniel told me about other than there wouldn't be any men around. Stormy, Posy Ashly and I sort of fell in behind our mothers as we hiked up the beach. Stormy nudged me and said,

"Look at that, our mothers acting like little girls." She was right, laughing, pointing talking dirty. This surprised me about my mom, I had never really heard her swear before. Sometimes dad did over at the bakery if he burned his hand, or happened to drop pastries or something. Stormy told me,

"Mom swears a lot, but if she thinks I'm nearby she tries to watch it." It took a good hour of walking to reach Kiria's house. It was a low beach front type home set on a low bluff, a narrow road ran behind it going inland towards town. There were several palms as well as other trees growing around the house. A tall and tanned woman waved at us coming over and hugging Mrs. Odair as well as Stormy's mom. Daniel's mom introduced the rest of us. She invited us inside, where we were offered wine or iced tea. Mom as well as Mrs. Odair chose the iced tea however Stormy's mom and Emily took the wine.

It looked like the adults were going to sit around and yak which is when Kiria said,

"If you kids want to head down to the beach we'll be along, there's a couple beach umbrella's out on the deck, as well as a large towel or two." So we grabbed up the towel's and umbrella's and headed for the beach. We staked out a spot at the edge of the beach, and planted the umbrella's. Since I couldn't swim very well I stretched out on the large towel. Stormy, Ashly and Posy started taking off their tee shirts, bra's and shorts then dashing to the water. Being new to this nude swimming idea, I wasn't sure which way to go, mom would be down here soon and I wasn't sure what her reaction would be. Everybody else was squealing and splashing out in the water. As I lay on my chest I spotted a group of kids working their way down the beach towards us. Looking closer I was surprised to see that they too were naked, there were three guys and three girls, what was this place, a giant nude beach? They picked a spot about a hundred yards down from us and proceeded to set up their own "camp."

It appeared that they were going to lay out, as no one headed for the water, before long I heard talking behind me, it was our mothers arriving.

"I see you girls found a nice spot," said Kiria, "Well ladies make yourselves comfortable." She had another umbrella, which she firmly planted in the sand. Then she and Mrs. Odair, along with Stormy's mom and Emily proceeded to strip . I watched mom carefully who stood there for a moment, shrugged and undressed as well . Taking that as my cue, I sat up and took off my clothes as well. I noticed that Mrs. Odair, her sister, and Kiria seemed to be very comfortable without any clothes, but then their deep tans said as much. Stormy's mom seemed to be pretty much at ease as well. Daniel's mom then turned to me and asked,

"How come your not in the water with the other girls Anna?" Before I could answer, mom spoke up,

"I'm afraid it's my fault Annie, back in the seam there really isn't anyplace to swim other than a small pond where we hunt sometimes, I showed her the basics but that's about all."

"Well we'll have to do something about that," replied Mrs. Odair.

"I'd be happy to teach you, it's not really that hard, come on Anna, you too Katniss, I'm getting kind of hot." Mom started to get up then said,

"You know, it just occurred to me I really haven't gone swimming since the Quell."

Daniels mom grinned,

"Well I guess it's time you got a refresher course, you too Jo, you were doing great last time you were here." This prompted everyone else to follow suite mom looked at me,

"Feel up to this Anna?" Shrugging, I replied,

"Oh I guess, I should learn sometime."

Strolling down to the waters edge mom and I followed Mrs. Odair as she waded out into the surf.

"Ok Anna," she said, "We'll get out here a little deeper where I can hold you better, but first watch me, I'll show you the proper way to pull your self along in the water."

She then demonstrated stroking and encourage me to do the same. Only when I got it right did she move on to the next demonstration. Finally when she thought I was ready, she said,

"Bend over and I'll catch you stretch out prone, Katniss, help her do that , when your ready Anna kick and paddle like I showed you, nice and easy."

I bent over as she caught me at my waist and just under my boobs. I was surprised at how strong she was, holding me up just on the surface of the water. I started to panic a bit as my mouth and nose went under water, but Mrs. Odair pulled me up.

"Now just work into a rhythm," she added.

"Yes, that's it just keep up the rhythm." Slowly over the course of an hour, she worked with me, along with Kiria, mom and Emily. For the rest of the time we were at Annie's she worked with me to the point where I could really swim.

After my first lesson, I felt better about going in the water, even if it was just sitting in the surf, letting the foamy water roll over me. Stormy's mom said to me,

Although I could swim the things they did to me in the capitol made me fear water. Thanks to Annie, I lost that fear, she'll do it for you as well, it will take a while, but at first I had to push myself to go in, now it's no big deal." Later, when we were all lying on the beach, mom and Mrs. Hawthorne started talking about hunting,

"You've got to come back to twelve sometime Johanna I'll take you out into the woods."

"What's the hunting like down there?" she asked.

"Good," replied mom, "Although since the fences are all down now a lot more people go out making the animals more wary, still I have my own special places Anna and I go. Oh, and be sure to tell that husband of yours he's welcome too."

"I'd really like that Katniss," said Stormy's mom, "I'm not really that good with a bow, I never was, I really need to get out and practice more."

"Is there any place near you that offers decent hunting?"

"Yeah, we live right on the edge of a large forest there's a river nearby as well , Gale goes there to fish sometimes." Posy then spoke up,

"I remember that's where those men were taking me when…"

"Yeah well that was a very bad time Posy," interrupted Mrs. Hawthorne, who quickly changed the story.

Stormy told me all about it, she was just a baby when men came and kidnapped Posy,

They were really after me," added Stormy, "Mom and dad went after them and killed them, I got mom to tell me once, but after that she won't talk about it neither will dad."

Mom was starting to show burn so we all ended up getting dressed and heading back up to the house, where the adults started talking about supper.

"There's a new place in town that specializes in very fresh seafood, " announced Emily,

"You call them up and they actually deliver, anything you want, shellfish, grouper, ocean perch, shrimp, it's all caught fresh that day and they're pretty reasonable on their prices too.

"Is that Trenton's?" asked Kiria.

"Yeah," replied Emily.

"Oh yeah I've gotten stuff from them they really do have an excellent selection, do you want to order something from them?

"Considering how many we have here might as well," replied Mrs. Odair.

Soon we settled on what we wanted to eat and Kiria called in the order. In about half an hour a boy showed up riding a three wheeled bicycle with a large box on it, Mrs. Odair and Kiria paid him and came in with a plastic bucket filled with various seafood. Mom had already started the grill on the deck , and before long, we were all out on the deck talking and watching the seafood grilling. Kiria showed mom how to make seaweed biscuits which she baked to perfection, a nice salad, and wine, we enjoyed a terrific meal. Later, after we ate, we girls sat and played various card games while our mothers drank wine and talked.

I was keeping an ear cocked for any juicy tidbits of news, and I think Stormy was too, but our moms continued to chatter on about mundane things. I was right in the middle of a possibly winning hand when I heard mom mention Effie Trinket and Haymitch Abernathy. Now there was a pair, I liked Haymitch well enough, even if he did drink too much, if I had to witness the things he did, I think I'd drink too. Effie was another matter, mom didn't like her for the fact that Effie always brought back bad memories of her time in the old capitol. Lately though she and dad seemed to have mellowed a little bit about her, especially dad, I remember him telling mom,

"I'm no big fan of Effie, but I really think she's a stabilizing influence on Haymitch, his drinking seems to slow down any time she's here visiting him."

"Perhaps you haves a point," replied mom, "She just dredges up memories I'd prefer to forget." Talk about Effie soon led into talk about prep teams with mom bringing up a name I'd never heard before, "Cinna." Apparently he was mom's stylist and created quite a number of beautiful dresses for her as well as the one that broke all their minds when it appeared to catch fire.

"Mine stuck me in some God-awful thing that looked like a damn tree," said Mrs. Hawthorne.

"They had me dressed in a fishing net with painted on scales," added Daniels mom. " think some of the others wanted me to go bare-assed naked, I know Finnick hinted at it.

"What ever happened to Cinna?" asked Mrs. Odair.

"Snow had him killed as a lesson to me." She sighed, then added, "He lives now only in my memory, a special place in my heart."

"I think that goes with being an ex-victor," said Mrs. Hawthorne, "we all have special places in our hearts for those that died. It took me a long time, but I'm at peace, I know my family, everyone I used to know is in a better place don't ask me how I know this, I just do, once I came to terms with that I was able to get on with my life. When I made that first trip back to district 7 something happened that changed my life, it's very personal, but it led me to realize I was blessed with a loving husband and a beautiful daughter…I'm complete.

However, the one thing I'll always regret is that I didn't get a chance to deal with Snow, I had some rather…Unique punishments in mind for him, ha,ha, you know Vengeance is mine and all that!"

Mrs. Odair then added her philosophy,

"I think it was a journey that changed my life as well. When we all came to visit you and Peeta I forced myself to step away. Of course I was terribly worried about Daniel, but I realized I was smothering him, it wasn't until I sat in your living room Katniss, that I finally realized what I was doing to those that cared about me, what I was doing to Daniel. I too have a special place in my heart for the one that I love, thanks to you all and my son, I can now honor him but at the same time view it in it's proper perspective. Katniss, you and I have both suffered crushing loss, for me a husband, for you a sister, I think there comes a point in your life when you have to accept the fact that their dead, and as Jo says, they're in a better place. They suffered, yes, they felt pain but they suffer no more. Jo told be all about her experience, I believe every word of it, I truly believe, and that belief has given me strength, I've suffered long enough. Finnick said some things to me just before he left me forever, I didn't really understand them until just recently. Basically he simply told me to remember him but get on with my life, when the proper time comes he will be with me again, with that knowledge planted firmly in my brain I can move on, It's what he wanted for me, it's what I'll give him."

Stormy Posy and I just sat there listening, we couldn't believe our ears.

Slowly mom got up and went over to Mrs. Odair, who stood up as well. Both embraced, mom just started crying, I started to get up to comfort her but Stormy stopped me. We watched as the two women hugged each other and cried. What was amazing to us was the fact that no one bothered to chase us out, Stormy's mom, Emily and Kiria sat there in silence just watching. Finally mom parted a bit from Mrs. Odair.

"It would seem that I too have found an inner peace with a journey of my own…Thank you Annie, Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Oh I'm not over my pain, but I think that now I can truly begin to move away from all the self pity and loathing that's been eating me alive all these years. I think it started when I was able to forgive Gale, I've been doing a lot of thinking about that lately, Jo, you've got an incredible husband there, take care of him, I think that once I realized that he was not responsible for Prim's death I could mourn her properly and without malice in my heart. I agree with you Annie, I think it's now time that I too continue to mourn and honor my sister but accept the fact that I must move on with my life as well, it's going to be difficult, but I'm hoping that as my dearest friends, you will all bear with me." With that, Stormy's mom as well as Mrs. Odair hugged mom.

"Your always welcome here Katniss," then she looked at me and smiled, "And I have a hunch you're going to be visiting here a lot. I think the sacrifices we made are going to let certain sons and daughters to escape the fear we knew. I don't know about you Katniss, but I think as mothers, we're going to finally see a generation grow up free from fear."

All I could think of was that I truly wished Daniel could have been here to hear this, I was close to tears with a lump in my throat. Later, as Stormy and I shared a bed, we talked, and came to the realization that we had witnessed something remarkable, something that had begun in district 12 and although not ended here, had certainly brought fourth healing and a new hope, the personal burdens our mothers had been carrying all these years could now be laid down and their life's journey's refreshed.

The next morning Annie dragged me out to the water for another lesson since it was just the two of us she smiled and said,

"I didn't say anything last night, but you Anna are one of the reasons helping me to move forward."

"Oh, how's that Mrs. Odair?"

"You are so much like me when I was your age, Snow robbed me of not only my youth, but the love of my life, I look at you and Daniel as a second chance, the two of you can enjoy what I as well as a whole lot of others couldn't. You two love each other very much, you look at my son in the same way I looked at Finnick, go for it Anna, go for it and never look back."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four Those We Remember**

Travis and I stayed up quite late, just talking, Gage fell asleep on the couch and stayed there all night. This was the first time I had since I had met him last year when Stormy and I had gone to district 12. We just talked like guys do, Travis wanted all the information he could get on Stormy and her parents. He was also keenly interested on my take of her mother.

"She seems nice enough, she was a hero back in seven, but I gather she really doesn't want to be reminded of all that."

"I don't think it's that so much," I replied, "Stormy told me once that when she was around ten, she and her parents went back there, her dad had business there, but her mom didn't really want to go at first, but they all went. She said her mom was real moody, crying a lot, it bothered Stormy al lot 'cause she thought she was the cause at first, but then realized it was something else. She felt real bad about it, because she wanted to help her mom, but being just a kid she didn't know how. If you want to know any more, you'll have to ask Stormy , she said the whole thing was really creepy, but after they left, she said her mom's whole attitude started to change, she's since tried talking to her mom about it but she won't say a word."

Travis shifted in his chair draping one leg over the arm, and in a matter-o-fact tone, "I took the train up to see Stormy not long after we first met, having heard all the stories about how she won the games as well as a few other things. Anyway, I was on my guard, we got joking around, keeping it light, when out of the blue, Stormy's mom asked me if I was any good with an axe. Man! I gotta say I was on the alert right then. I told her I knew which end you struck the tree with, she gave me the stink eye, then challenged me to a contest. I thought "Oh shit! What did I get myself into this time, going up against a ruthless killer, hell! I'm just a kid."

I laughed, "I meant to tell you when I first met you to be careful around Mrs. Hawthorne, she doesn't take prisoners."

"Yeah well, I was in it with both feet, by then," chuckled Travis. "She selected a tree, to throw at, Stormy's dad didn't help anything by telling me his wife never lost and might think she was back in the games and start chasing me thinking I was another tribute. I knew he was just trying to fuck with my head, I mean we were all having a good time and all. But man, I was still nervous about it"

"Well anyway," continued Travis, "We stood back about twenty feet and just started throwing, we were trying for ten out of ten, I went first, getting all ten hits, I couldn't believe it, they all stuck good too. Mrs. Hawthorne threw, got nine solid hit's the last one stuck at first ,but immediately fell out. Stormy's dad was judging and called "Miss." Well they got to arguing about it but in the end she gave in. We threw again and both of us got all ten hits, well that made her feel better so I figured we were square. Then she asks me if I was good with a knife, so like a big dummy I says "Yeah," next thing I knew she was tossing me a wooden knife, man! The shit was on.'

I shook my head, and laughed, "I've got to hand it to you Travis, I can't think of too many guys who'd go one on one with a Hunger Games victor."

"Oh I knew I wouldn't win, no way! But I figured my edge might be the fact that she was older now and not in her prime like when she was in the games."

"So how long did you last?" I asked.

"Ten minutes, which was eight longer than I figured," replied Travis.

"Wow! That's incredible," I said in astonishment.

""Uh yeah that's what I thought too, " replied Travis. "I managed to stay out of her way most of the time 'cuz I was shorter and more agile, but even so, she was fucking quick. She didn't let up either, she just kept coming at me."

"Were you scared?"

Travis guffawed, "Didn't have time to be, I just kept moving."

"Ever get any hits on her?"

Travis just shook his head, "No not even close, that woman knows how to use a knife."

I chuckled, "Maybe that's why she carries one in her boot, even when you think she isn't, she's armed," I replied.

"She said something at the end to me that kinda creeped me out," said Travis.

She told me, "If you had been reaped in the games, I think district might have had a chance at another winner."

It was getting really late, so we called it a night and headed for our tent, but before we drifted off, Travis turned to me and said,

"I know as much as anyone about those games, but when we got done fighting it really hit me just what they were really all about, I lay awake half the night just thinking about it, to think she went through all that and survived."

"I'm not so sure about that Travis," I replied,

"If you had been in the Mellark's living room that night like Stormy and I were, you'd have realized no one walked away from those games unscathed, just look at my mother, Hell! Look at Anna's mom. All those that died…Died, their troubles were over, everyone that walked away probably wishes or has wished at some point in their lives they had been part of the fortunate. I can't tell you the number of times over the years I've had to go into mom's bedroom and crawl into bed with her to calm her down from some horrendous nightmare she's had. Anna's told me the same thing, only she's had to contend with two parents, Stormy…The same way, I can now see why our parents hid this stuff from us for so many years."

"Hey look man," replied Travis,

"I'm sorry I didn't mean it that way, I really didn't, I have incredible respect for Stormy's mom, I think now she was testing me, we get along great, she knows I would never hurt Stormy, but man, I gotta tell you what a way to get introduced to a family."

We must have really slept in because the next thing I knew was the flap of the tent being yanked open and a voice shouting,

"They're in the tent…Still sleeping." I opened my eyes to see Anna's mom peering in at us,

"It's almost noon, don't you boys think you ought to get up?"

As Travis and I emerged from our tent, we were confronted by disgusted expressions, Emily asked,

"Where's Gage?"

"Here I am mom," he came our of the house and shook his head at us,

"They wouldn't wake up so I went home did some of my chores, ate breakfast and just now got back."

"Were you two drinking?" asked mom.

"No mom we weren't, just stayed up real late talking, that's all."

Mom had a skeptical look in her eye,

"Aunt" Johanna was giving me her usual look, strangers might take it for one of disgust, but she's looked at me like that all my life, Stormy explained it to me once.

"Don't let that look fool you Daniel, mom really likes you, but she's always afraid your going to do something to hurt or upset your mom."

"I suppose, but mom knows I'm always watching out for her."

Staring back at her I blurted out the first thing that came into my mind.

"I hear that you're a pretty good knife fighter." She glanced briefly at Travis then back at me.

"You think you're better than Travis here?"

"Uh…No, he just told me about that contest you guys had." She then glared at Travis,

"Well young man, anytime you think your ready to try me again, just say the word." Travis gave me a dirty look.

"Gee thanks Daniel, remind me never to tell you anything again."

"Oh settle down Travis," replied, "Aunt" Johanna, "I'm just teasing you.

Mom then announced,

"I'm going to take Katniss and Johanna over to Albertsons Cove and see if we can't catch something, I promised her something to shoot at, and I've been a little lax in my trident skills, we'll be back a little later." Emily and her children left as well so that just left the four of us.

"Well let's see, two guys, two girls I wonder what kind of trouble we can get into?" Anna gave me a sly look, How about a little of that skinny dipping you told me about?"

I studied her for a moment,

"I didn't think you could swim very well,"

"Your mom has been teaching me, I'm getting better at it."

"I don't know…If your not careful that undertow can pull you right under."

"Oh please," begged Anna.

"Travis…Stormy, in or out?"

"I think we'll just stick around here, if you guys want to go somewhere go ahead," said Stormy.

"All right," I said, "We'll walk a little further down the beach, be back later." Grabbing a large towel, we set off.

Anna and I held hands as we strolled down the beach, looking out on the ocean, as well being on the lookout for anything interesting that had washed up on the beach.

As we walked in the surf, Anna closed up and put her arm around my waist,

"Too bad you weren't with us the other day," said Anna, a reserved tone in her voice.

Chuckling, I replied,

"Yeah I wish I had been there, lots of naked ladies running around eh." That got me a punch in the side,

"No silly, last evening our mothers opened up about the games, nobody prompted them, my mom started talking about her stylist, named Cinna, ever hear of him?"

"No, so what did they talk about?"

"Mostly about the dresses they wore to the big parade. Mom said this Cinna guy was killed as a way to show her who was in charge."

This sounded fascinating I started to wish I had been there.

"So what else did they talk about?"

"Oh they got teary eyed and blubbery, mom hugged your mom who talked about realizing it was time to move on with her life, Oh you should have heard it Daniel, it would have brought tears to your eyes." With excitement in my voice, I replied,

"After you guys leave I'll sit down with her and just talk, if what she says is true, then maybe her long nightmare is coming to an end, god I hope so."

Ever since they all "opened up" when we went to the Mellark's I knew it would be a matter of time before someone got comfortable with themselves, and revealed a little more Damn! And I wasn't there. We continued to walk on until I spotted the island which was just a sand bar surrounded by shallows that filled up when the tide was in. The little island grew a number of palmetto's as well as a thick cover of saw grass. Wading out through the shallow water, we climbed up the island on a well worn path that took us down to the gulf side that was protected from the water by another low barrier a little further out.. The water on this side generally came up to your waist, so I wasn't worried about Anna. The water being warmed by the sun was just right so I spread out the towel and announced,

"Well here we are, you said you wanted to go skinny dipping, well this is the place. It's nice and shallow, only comes up to your waist out there in the middle, get your clothes off and let's go in."

Anna looked at me then at the water, in a way that I knew I had called her bluff.

"What…Here, right now?"

As I pulled my shirt off I looked at her and grinned,

"But I thought…"

"Umm, can we just sit on the beach for a moment." It was clear Anna wasn't one of "those" girls, so clearly a new strategy was called for.

"Sure Anna," I replied, "anything you want." As we sat down on the beach towel she looked at me with disappointment in her eyes,

"I'm sorry Daniel." I moved closer to her and put my arm around her,

"For what? You don't have to apologize to me."

I bent over and kissed her as she hugged me then hung her head.

"All that talk back there 'bout skinny dipping was just talk, I really didn't mean it."

"Kinda figured it was," I softly replied, "But it doesn't matter Anna I don't want to push you into anything you're not comfortable with, let's just lie here and watch the gulls OK?" She then pushed me down and proceeded to press her lips to mine, as she ran her fingers over my chest .

"Let us, uh you know…Just kinda lie here and…" It didn't take long, both of us were pawing each other, tugging and "ripping." Anna became demanding and aggressive, something I wasn't used to but then I wasn't being a "slouch either," she demonstrated the interesting things she could do with her mouth, and I my tongue. As I entered her she arched her back and wrapped her legs around me as she let out a satisfied moan of pleasure. As I kept going, she wouldn't let me stop, begging me to push deeper, she bit my neck, and gasped in pleasure.

We eventually changed positions as Anna slowed down and savored the moments as she took up a slow rhythm arching her back as I strained to push deeper inside of her. Finally as both of us tired, she slowly rolled off me lying on her back next to me both our heads turned to each other and smiling.

"I think I'm ready for a dip in the water now Daniel," giggled Anna.

We returned to the house closer now than ever before, we never spoke of our lovemaking each knew the other now, we were very much in love, confident and self-assured, we took our pleasures when we could realizing that it was just the two of us now. Anna and I also noticed that as we grew closer, our mothers did too. Mom now had a new friend as they realized a commonalty in their mutual loss. Both Anna and I always felt that it was our love and closeness that brought our mothers together as well.

We also noticed that it wasn't just our two mothers, but Stormy's mom as well. It was our understanding that at the time of the Quarter Quell Anna's mom had been rather indifferent to my mother and more than a bit intrigued by my father even to the point of possibly ratcheting things up a bit. She and my "Aunt" Johanna had been quite at odds with each other, not exactly enemies, but certainly not friends. Now they were as close as friends could get. They'd stared death in the eye, and shared war and it's consequences. Anna's father and Stormy's dad once at odds as well also seemed to draw closer together. Stormy told me once,

"Mr. Mellark got dad "hooked" on these chocolate cookies he brought up one time, Mom couldn't or wouldn't make them so dad pestered Mr. Mellark into showing him how to make them himself. Well one thing led to another, dad's really into baking stuff which is all right with mom and I especially his coffee cake but it's supposed to be sort of a secret, dad doesn't want anybody to know he likes to bake things." This however was all in the future. Anna and I grew older and we eventually married, I took the inspection job and built a good life for us.

As for my mom through not only her own efforts but those of her friends as well, she finally took a big step and broke out of her "shell" becoming a district representative, throwing herself into district politics telling me,

"I want to ensure we never return to the days of old Panem, I've been silent too long, I will speak and act in the name of my husband, my brother, and all those that died. We have a good life here in four and I want to keep it that way."

Once while watching Anna hold our little boy I thought about life's journey's, the one I took with Stormy, the one Anna and I were now embarked on. The one I thought about most was the one our parents took, the one that saw to it Anna and I as well as all our friends would never have to repeat their's. Looking at my son I envisioned that when he became a grown man, the horror of the Hunger Games would be a distant memory. With that, I bent over and kissed him on his forehead.


End file.
